


i will always stay, by your side forever, cause we're better together

by greatkateweathermachine



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Multi, i love josarchead and wanted to write it, this is just short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:53:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29437089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatkateweathermachine/pseuds/greatkateweathermachine
Summary: Archie and Josie are sitting on the couch, neither of them facing him. Strumming his guitar, Archie’s singing is low and comforting, although he’s mostly supporting Josie, who takes the lead. Her voice is high and clear, and it seems like she’s throwing her whole body into the song, eyes shut and hands moving along in time with the music.They’ve been doing this, finding time to sit together and sing while Archie plays guitar, since high school, way before Jughead got added to the equation. He’s known about it of course, but it always felt private, like something they wouldn’t want him to interfere with. And until now he’d assumed that it was the same as when Josie goes on stage, or Archie asks him for help with a song he’s been writing. But listening to them now, Jughead realizes just how wrong he was.This isn’t a performance. Archie and Josie aren’t singing for anyone but themselves.
Relationships: Josie McCoy/Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	i will always stay, by your side forever, cause we're better together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bigfeetbiggersocks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigfeetbiggersocks/gifts).



As he looks up from his typewriter for the first time in hours, Jughead notes the warm sunlight coming in through the window, telling him that the day was beginning to wind down and transition into evening. Still, he’s got a lot more work ahead of him if he’s going to meet his deadline in time.

This kind of nonstop writing is something he had thought was behind him after college, but the first draft of his next book needs to be done in less than a week, and he hardly had anything before he had settled into the chair in his office this morning.

It reminds him of long weekends spent holed up in a booth at Pops, just him and his computer and as many refills of coffee as he wanted. But as nostalgic as it makes him, those weekends were also lonely and grueling, usually only split up by quick trips home or helping Betty with whatever mystery had caught her eye that month.

Shaking himself out of his memories, Jughead stands, stretching out his sore back, and grabs a couple of the empty coffee mugs that litter his desk.

He walks down the hallway to the kitchen, most of the apartment dark, bathed in the soft evening light. It’s quiet, really quiet. The only thing he can hear is the sound of his shoes on the hardwood floor.

When he gets to his destination, he puts the mugs in the sink, reminding himself to wash them later. The clock on the microwave says that it’s almost six, but he just starts the coffee maker and resigns himself to the fact that it’s gonna be a late night of writing for him.

Once the coffee maker is done and he has a new, full mug in hand, Jughead stands for a moment in the dark kitchen. As much as he loves writing, he  _ really _ doesn’t want to go back to his office. This work is nothing like the articles he would write for the Blue and Gold back in high school, typing out what felt like whole novels in just a few hours and then sending them off to be edited. It turns out that true crime writing actually takes a lot of research when you’re not living through the events themselves. 

He’s about to head back when a sound cuts through the quiet. It’s faint, but steady, and has a rhythm to it, and after a few moments what he thinks are voices join in. 

Needing a distraction, and an excuse for why he isn’t working, Jughead follows the noise out of the kitchen and back into the hallway. Out here, the sound is clearer, and he’s able to recognize the voices as Archie and Josie’s, although he still can’t make out what they’re saying.

The only light in the apartment is coming from the living room, the same place where the sound is coming from. He walks over to the open doorway, leaning a little against the wall.

It is a very rare occasion that Jughead Jones finds himself speechless. This, however, was one of them.

Archie and Josie are sitting on the couch, neither of them facing him. Strumming his guitar, Archie’s singing is low and comforting, although he’s mostly supporting Josie, who takes the lead. Her voice is high and clear, and it seems like she’s throwing her whole body into the song, eyes shut and hands moving along in time with the music.

They’ve been doing this, finding time to sit together and sing while Archie plays guitar, since high school, way before Jughead got added to the equation. He’s known about it of course, but it always felt private, like something they wouldn’t want him to interfere with. And until now he’d assumed that it was the same as when Josie goes on stage, or Archie asks him for help with a song he’s been writing. But listening to them now, Jughead realizes just how wrong he was.

This isn’t a performance. Archie and Josie aren’t singing for anyone but themselves.

It’s easy to get caught up in the music, in the sound of their voices mixing together. Jughead doesn’t know how long he stands there before he hears someone address him, taking him out of the trance he’s found himself under.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come sit with us?” Josie says. She’s smiling with her nose scrunched up a little, like seeing him there is a little bit funny to her.

Archie turns around, eyes lighting up when he sees him.

Startled by the sudden attention, Jughead fumbles with the now cold cup of coffee as he tries not to drop it or spill any on the floor.

“Uh, I didn’t mean to intrude.” He rubs the back of his neck with his hand, embarrassed to be caught staring.

Josie rolls her eyes and gets up, dragging him over to the couch by his free hand and making him sit down.

“You aren’t  _ intruding _ , this is your house too, you know. If we didn’t want you to listen in we would have gone somewhere else.” 

She acts like this is obvious, something he should have known. Only now is he considering the possibility that this unwritten social rule wasn’t even there in the first place.

Shifting to put his guitar on the floor, Archie slings an arm over the back of the couch behind him.

“Yeah, Jug. This is like the first time we’ve seen you all day.” He sounds a little worried, and even though his tone is light, there’s a crease in his brow as he says it.

Jughead tilts his head so it falls back onto Archie’s arm, letting exhaustion overcome him. To his left, Josie pulls her legs up under her and moves to rest her cheek on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, guys. This is just  _ so _ much work, I never should have gotten this behind in the first place.” He brings a hand up to rub his forehead, bothered by a headache that has been there for hours but he’s only just noticing.

Josie nods along, fidgeting with her sweater sleeve as she thinks. “How about we order take out for dinner and you take a break for a few hours. We can even watch one of those dumb pretentious movies you like.”

He lifts his head up to glare at her, although there’s no heat behind it. 

“The  _ films  _ that I like aren’t ‘dumb’ or ‘pretentious’.” Jughead pauses, considering her proposal, “That does sound nice, though.”

Archie and Josie both grin, and that alone is making the lost time that he could’ve spent writing worth it.

“But I still have to work more after that and-”

He’s cut off by Archie. 

“We know. It’ll just be a break, might help to come back to your book after a little while.” He says, as he reaches around him to grab Josie’s arm, pulling them both into a hug

Josie laughs a little, used to the sudden affection that Archie likes to exhibit. Closing his eyes, Jughead let’s himself relax for the first time in hours.

They’re right, he really should take a break.

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's day levi! i had a great time writing this fic for you, and getting to make some josarchead content
> 
> here's a playlist that i made for them: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sCQo71OfqXhKHY0OsM70d?si=Wf4U4RetRVObfZIbSSBMGg
> 
> the title is from "better together" from austin and ally
> 
> my tumblr is greatkateweathermachine, although most of my writing is on my bnt/tlb sideblog wearewyldstallyns


End file.
